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10. Speaker Series: Hear from an amazing (and growing!) lineup of speakers with great advice, ideas, and new trends in the world of mobile computing. Take advantage of their insight and get a bead on whatís around the corner for us all.

9. Oktoberfest: if you get overwhelmed by cutting edge technology talk, dart down to Oktoberfest in Baltimore for a liter of Germanyís finest beer and a bite to eat. Youíll be yelling ausgezeichnet in no time. http://www.federalhillna.org/octoberfest

8. Cars and their respective computers: Take a look at some of the more interesting Car-PC projects that weíve run into, and speak their owners personally. Ask them what they like and what they donít like, and learn from their mistakes in order to make your next project a breeze.

7. Orioles/Red Sox: September baseball is the bestóit combines gorgeous weather, the most beautiful ballpark in America, and the sheer desperation that has come to mark the Orioles organization in recent years. Extend your trip by one day and take in a game with Baltimoreís skyline as a dramatic backdrop to an inevitable blow-out. http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bal

6. Betascape: If youíve never been, then there is no better opportunity. Stop by on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday for an action-packed weekend of art, technology, and creative-synergistic-intrigue. Conveniently located, and even more conveniently timed, to sync up with our own AFKFest. Not to be missed. http://betascape.org/

5. Dining/Nightlife: Quite sneakily, Baltimore has emerged as an epicenter for food trends and vibrant nightlife, and at a whisper of prices in most cities. Sit down at one of dozens of award-winning and restaurants for fresh, seasonal, and quirky food, and follow it up with a crawl around one of several historic neighborhoods. Youíll be quaffing libations in one of the most accessible and historic cities on the East Coast. Heck, Iíll join you. http://www.fellspoint.us/

4. What else are you going to do? Honestly, Iíve seen your calendar, and itís not exactly busting at the seams with awesome events that youíll have to cancel. Even if it is, youíll have the greatest excuse ever: ďIím going to [the tech-version of] Disneyland [in scenic Baltimore, MD]!!Ē

3. Culture: Ah yes, while youíre in town, you may as well sign up for a sophisticated and cultural activity. Take advantage of the dozen or so celebrated museums in Baltimore, ranging from priceless art at the Walters to George Washingtonís teeth at the Dentistry. Many of them are free, all of them are interesting, and most of them have a coat check. http://www.avam.org/

2. Hurricane Irene: Uhhhhh, we just got hit by one of the more expensive natural disasters of the past few decades. Arenít you even a little bit curious about how a city that was built several hundred years ago climbs out of back-to-back weeks of earthquakes and hurricanes? See it first hand, and help me put my roof deck back together.

1. Iím not allowed to tell you the number one reason. But Iíll give you a hint: Rob Wray hasnít shaved in weeks.

Our thinking about this year’s AFKFest had become so uptight--we needed a change of perspective. We needed... a violent bolt of inspiration. The wheels somewhere in Rob’s head were turning... slowly at first, but picking up speed..... Then, it happened. Kaboom. Back to our roots, back to the community; something exciting, something.... of the community, by the community, and for the community.

A Hackathon. (Not)

We were immediately worked up into a fervor about the idea. With the level of expertise in this community, and poised on the brink of a revolution in mobile apps, car computing, and software/hardware design, we were pretty amped. Once we settled down a bit, Rob tapped this more tempered description on his keyboard while the idea was still in its infancy:

"Hey everyone. We're doing a hackathon on the Sunday after AFKFest to create some amazing software and/or hardware using existing SDKs. The day will be devoted to collaboration between software/hardware engineers, project managers, and designers. We're interested in knowing what SDKs you all would like to work with. Any ideas? What companies are you the most interested in working with right now? And they don't need to be necessarily associated with car computing.

We know Centrafuse (and other companies) will be there with their SDK."

What can we accomplish in a short period of time, fueled by collaboration, CARisma and coffee? The sky’s the limit, but one thing is for sure: this thing will live or die based on your input and participation. Let’s see what kind of amazing concepts and ?????? we can come up with. I can barely sit still. To get started, let’s hear what you think. Post a comment, ask a question, let’s get this conversation started.

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Tom Berry, AKA BugByte on the forums, talks to AFKFest about the past, present and future of car computing. As one of the first car pc enthusiasts in the world, Tom explains the early uses for car pcs and how car pcs have evolved over time.

He presents his thoughts on the current mobile data phase and the impact the car pc may have on the world in the future. Lots of good stuff in one brief segment.

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Colin, co creator of Shotgun! front end gives a demo of the software. Shotgun! was created with the beginner carpc hobbyist in mind. It is designed to be intuitive to use as well as easily to install and configure. Features include navigation, XM radio, internet, etc.